Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects Blacks more than other races due to lifestyle choices and other inherent factors. But what if I told you that the solution to solving your inability to get an erection was in your kitchen?
Mediterranean diet can bring many benefits for the human body, including a healthier heart and a sharper brain. But there's another benefit that might be of particular interest to men.
Following a Mediterranean diet can lower a man's future risk of ED, according to research presented online Friday at the European Society of Cardiology's annual meeting.
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Researchers found that the diet improves blood vessel health throughout the entire body -- including the penis.
Men following the Mediterranean diet had higher levels of testosterone, better erectile performance and more flexible arteries, results show.
"It seems plausible that this dietary pattern may improve fitness and erectile performance by enhancing function of the blood vessels and limiting the fall in testosterone that occurs in midlife," researcher Dr. Athanasios Angelis, from the University of Athens in Greece, says.
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For the study, Angelis and his colleagues followed 250 men with high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction. Their average age was 56.
The men were quizzed about their diet, and their responses scored to indicate how
well they stick to a Mediterranean diet.
The diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and olive oils. You can eat dairy products, eggs, fish and poultry in low to moderate amounts, but should limit consumption of red meat.
Men who stuck more closely to a Mediterranean diet had a better ability to increase blood flow throughout the body when needed, and more testosterone. Those who were more physically fit did even better. However, research presented at medical meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
It makes sense that a diet known to improve heart health would also help with erections, two U.S. experts note.
"Erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease, they're all on the same spectrum," Dr. Andrew Freeman, co-founder of the American College of Cardiology's Nutrition and Lifestyle Work Group says. "A lot of the time, we call erectile dysfunction the canary in the coal mine. It often shows up first, before someone has a cardiovascular event."
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The Mediterranean diet has been shown to improve the health of the cells that line the inner walls of blood vessels, Freeman and Dr. Carlos Santos-Gallego, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City add.
"When the arteries are healthy, they are able to dilate, increase their diameter, and therefore bring more blood to tissue" throughout the body, Santos-Gallego explains.
"It's not a surprise that if it improves [blood vessel] function in general, it will also improve it in the vessels taking blood to the penis. It is absolutely expected," Santos-Gallego says.
The Mediterranean diet also improves the body's production of
nitric oxide, a biochemical that helps blood vessels relax and dilate, Santos-Gallego adds.
These new findings agree with earlier studies that also showed similar benefits in men from a Mediterranean diet, Santos-Gallego says.
However, Santos-Gallego warns that men currently struggling to maintain an erection won't see an immediate benefit in that area if they take up the diet.
"The Mediterranean diet is not going to be a treatment for erectile dysfunction," Santos-Gallego says. "It's not if a patient has erectile dysfunction, he will immediately start the Mediterranean diet and that will work like Viagra."
Rather, men following the diet will have a lower chance of erectile dysfunction in the future, he notes.
READ: Ten Health Symptoms Black Men Shouldn’t Ignore
Freeman also cautioned against Americanizing the traditional Mediterranean diet, if you want to see benefits.
"A traditional Mediterranean is predominantly a plant-based diet. It's loaded up with greens and lentils and maybe some olive oil, whereas in the United States when you think about Mediterranean everyone's thinking about feta and lamb," Freeman shares. "If you're going out and having an incredibly rich, rich meal that's 'Mediterranean,' that may not be the traditional take on it."
Incorporating a Mediterranean diet into your life
If you are looking to take up a Mediterranean diet, it's wise to consult with a dietician to come up with a meal plan, but essentially you can start by gradually making the following changes:
- Switch your fats to extra virgin olive oil
- Eat more nuts and olives
- Eat more whole-grain
- Begin or end each meal with a salad
- Eat more vegetables
- Eat at least three servings of legumes a week
- Eat less meat
- Replace other alcohol with wine (no more than 5 ounces per day for men and one glass per day for women)
- Replace sugary beverages with water
- Eat less high-fat/high-sugar desserts
- Eat more locally grown and season foods
